VesselsChinese4th millennium BCE

Long-necked jar

late Yangshao to early Majiayao culture, Shilingxia phase, c. 3500-3000 BCE

Description

Globular vessel with flared lip, long cylindrical neck, sloping shoulders, broad midsection, and lower body tapering inward to a flat base; buff earthenware lightly burnished and decorated on the exterior with abstract designs painted in black slip; painted designs on body and neck include three large lozenge shaped medallions enclosing a fishnet pattern on the body, each surrounded by curvilinear triangles, arcs, lines, and dotted circles. From the upper Yellow River valley region, Gansu or Qinghai province. Note: A sample taken from the base of this vessel was thermoluminescence (TL) tested at Oxford Authentication Ltd. in October 2001 and determined to be consistent with the suggested period of manufacture.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Earthenware with slip-painted decoration

Culture

Chinese

Period

Neolithic period

Century

4th millennium BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 37.8 x Diam. 29 cm (14 7/8 x 11 7/16 in.)

Provenance

[The Chinese Porcelain Company, New York, 2002] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2002-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.